Pocelain White Your Skin
by Far Away In Wonderland
Summary: "I m sorry." Her words were barely above a whisper and yet Harvey could hear them as if they were spoken directly into his mind. He shook his head. "No, you re not." Donna just smiled at him sadly.


**AN:** This is for the Marvey WA-chat who, funnily enough, inspired me to write the craziest non-Marvey pairings lol

* * *

Harvey liked to brag that it had been him who had introduced Mike into the world of the law, fast cars, high billables and even higher risks, but even though Mike never dared to say it out loud, that wasn't quite true.

It had been Donna who had opened the gate to another life for him, who had shattered the glass ceiling from above and helped Mike climb up from his existence as lowly bike messenger and occasional drug runner.

It could have all ended before it even had had the chance to start if Donna had looked at Mike and found him lacking. A subtle shift while they looked and assessed each other, a dissonance in the atmosphere, a rupture in their silent understanding and Donna could have send him on – even given him up to the police.

Mike was aware of that. It was part of the credo that governed his new life. Harvey, who cared, even though he didn't want the world to know. Louis, who was insecure, even though he tried to hide behind rage and derision. Jessica, who hovered above them like a queen, revelling in the loneliness that her position brought. Donna, who knew more than she should and who had opened the one door that changed Mike´s life forever.

It was why Mike was always conscious about what he did and said around Harvey´s secretary. Rationally, he knew that she couldn't get him fired – at least not in the conventional way – but there was still something of the out-of-breath, wide-eyed boy in him who had stared at her and begged her not to call the cops on him. That was something Mike wasn't quite able to shake off. Some first-impression just had no expiration date.

"Is that my…" Donna began to ask as Mike approached her desk.

"…hipster coffee with way too much chemicals in it?" Mike finished for her and put the foaming cup in front of her. "It is." Donna smiled at him.

"Cinnamon and honey?" Mike questioned her with raised eyebrows. "Isn´t that a little bit, I don't know, over the top?" Donna shot him an incredulous glare.

"I have to deal with Harvey at least eight hours, six days a week," she replied, "I need every bit of sweetness I can get, lest I turn as bitter as Norma." Both of them shuddered at that thought. "Besides, death by sugar sounds like a nice way to go."

"You aren't allowed to die," Mike threw in hastily, "because that would mean I´d have to deal with Harvey completely on my own." Donna snorted.

"You´d have to keep him and Louis away from each other," she pointed out. Mike blanched. "I imagine that´s what having toddlers is like."

"Are you referring to Mike?" a voice behind Mike remarked and he nearly fell over, so fast was he turning around to face Harvey. The man stood there, his hair gelled back, tight fitting three-piece suit in midnight blue on his body and a smug grin on his face.

"In case it escaped your notice, I am, in fact, not at toddler, but a grown man," Mike replied. Harvey rolled his eyes at him.

"You´re right," he conceded. "It´s unfair to compare you with a toddler." Satisfied, Mike straightened his posture. "A toddler, at least, has some sense of fashion." And then Harvey was brushing past him.

"Hey!" Mike exclaimed outraged and followed after the man, Donna´s sniggering being heard until the glass door closed behind him.

Their case of the week was pretty straightforward – an employee embezzling from their client – until it suddenly wasn't anymore and Mike found himself down in the file room, looking forlornly at the dozens of boxes filled with now relevant documents concerning their case.

Sighing, Mike rolled up his sleeves and started with the nearest box. He didn't know how much time passed, as he consumed the pages, letters rolling off the paper and settling down in his mind, blurring in front of him and twisting and turning around like little snakes.

He was torn out of his trance when somebody held a cup of coffee in front of his face, disrupting his focus and his concentration. Mike looked up and saw Donna looking back at him with furrowed brow.

"You´ve been down here for five hours," she commented.

"Thanks," Mike replied hoarsely as he took the offered coffee from her hand. The sudden explosion of bitterness with a hidden note of sugar and milk on his tongue felt like a little heaven coming down to him.

"Harvey shouldn't push everything on you," Donna remarked. Mike didn't say anything, because Donna was Harvey´s friend and secretary first and his friend second. That didn't mean that she wasn't right, though.

"You can say it," she prodded. "I won´t go and spill everything to Harvey." She looked at him like she was hurt by him doubting her sincerity and somehow Mike felt bad for his short moment of distrust.

"It´s unfair how he has me doing all the grunt work," Mike complained. "I know that´s what he hired me for, but he could offer some help sometimes, you know? What does he actually do, besides shouting at the opposing council and wining and dining with clients." He let out a frustrated huff. "I feel, I don't know, somehow…"

"Unappreciated?" Donna finished for him. Mike just nodded. "And you don't dare to complain, because you don't want to be seen as ungrateful?" Another nod.

"You have every right to feel the way you feel," Donna continued. "I know Harvey and I know that he has taken you for granted for quite a while now. And when he takes something for granted, he tends to view them as resource rather than another being."

"He doesn't take you for granted, though," Mike pointed out. Donna flashed him a sharp smile.

"I broke him out of that habit pretty fast," she hinted ominously. "And now, straighten your crown, put on your high heels and show them what you´ve got."

"Who? The boxes?" Donna raised an eyebrow at him.

"You don't want me to believe that a few measly boxes of documents can defeat that." She tapped with her perfectly manicured finger at Mike´s temple.

"No, they can´t," Mike replied, a smile on his face.

* * *

"Mike, what´s that?" Mike looked up from the briefs he was currently going over. Louis was standing in front of him, a stack of paper in one hand and a dangerous, borderline maniac, glint in his eyes, his teeth bared in something akin to a smile.

"The Dorough summaries," Mike replied.

"And why aren't they done yet?" Louis continued asking. Mike sighed and supressed the urge to just roll the eyes at the other man.

"Because I have these high priority cases of Harvey and Jessica that need to be done, so I put the Doroughs back for another Associate to do them," Mike explained.

"You think you´re too good for lowly brief reading?" Leave it to Louis to completely misconstrue everything Mike said.

"No, Louis," Mike replied deliberately slow. "I said that I´m so swamped with another Senior Partner´s and the Managing Partner´s work that I find myself unable to do the work every other of your Associate could do as well."

"Well, I don't care," Louis sneered. "Have them done till tomorrow or you´re fired." This time Mike rolled his eyes because by this time Louis had threatened to fire him already 79 times. It was still inconvenient, though, and meant that Mike wouldn't get home before ten today.

"Louis." Both men turned around to see Donna leaning on the doorframe, looking at Louise with her usual mix of annoyance, incredulousness and a little bit of fondness.

"Donna." Louis smiled brightly and, boy, if that wasn't creepier than the fake smile he usually used on Mike. "Are you here to finally tell me that you´re finally finished with working for Harvey and are instead coming to me?"

"Dream on, Louis," Donna laughed. "I´m here because someone has lost his phone and now I have to play errand boy for Harvey." She sent a pointed glare at Mike who just gulped.

"Mike can´t," Louis replied. "He´s needed here."

"Louis." Mike knew that the other man was screwed now. That was the tone Donna used when Harvey was deliberately obtuse.

"Yes, Donna." It was like watching a predator circling its prey. Louis could sense the danger, but he didn't know how it would manifest itself.

"Did you just tell _me_ what I can and can´t do?" Louis gulped while Donna just stared at him. "I thought so. Come on, Mike, let´s go." Mike scrambled to comply and followed the woman out of the bullpen, the other Associates staring at Donna with a mixture of awe and desire.

* * *

Mike was working late again. The bullpen laid deserted in front of him, the humming of the electrical devices the only sound that disrupted the silence around him. The white, sterile light from above illuminated everything in a sickly, clinical tone and made Mike´s eye squint at the small letters on the pages in front of him.

Everyone had gone already, home in their warm beds, into the waiting arms of their loved ones. Everyone but Mike on whom Harvey had heaped another pile of briefs just before the blonde had wanted to leave the building.

Sometimes ( _right now_ ) Mike wanted to strangle the smug bastard.

The floors of Pearson Hardman when everyone was gone were a surreal experience. Empty hallways, devoid of any chatter, the click-clack of high heels and the fake laughter of the people that pretended to stand each other. It was straight out of a horror movie, in Mike´s opinion at least, and he dreaded the moment when he finally could go home but had to brace the main corridor.

That moment came sooner than expected, when Mike put down his text marker and looked at the last page of the brief he had had to read through in preparation for their deposition tomorrow. Now the only thing left to do was to put the stack of paper on Donna´s desk so that she could give it to Harvey tomorrow.

Mike was halfway through the hallway when he noticed that the light in Donna´s cubicle was on. He slowed his steps and slowly approached the red-head´s desk. He could hear someone sobbing and when he looked over the divider he nearly let the document in his fall on the ground when he saw Donna sitting there, red-eyed, with tears running down her cheeks.

"Mike?" Donna exclaimed in surprise. "I thought I was alone here."

"Donna," Mike stammered. "What…what happened?" The briefs laid forgotten on Donna´s desk as he walked around the cubicle and kneeled down in front of her. "What´s got to you?" Donna looked at him, her lips quivering as she was probably deliberating if she should tell him anything.

"I just had a call with my mother," Donna finally confided to Mike. "And she always manages to make me feel so…so worthless." She sniffed. "And yet I can´t help but call her every year on this day."

"I´d offer you a tissue if I had one," Mike replied which elicited a small smile from Donna. "And I don´t think your mother is worth any tears. Especially yours." Another faint smile.

"It´s just," Donna shrugged, "she´s my mother and I´m supposed to lover her and she´s supposed to love me, but she doesn't." A short pause. "If you tell anyone about this, no one will find your body." Mike held his hands up in mock surrender.

"I wouldn't dare," he assured the crying woman. "Your secret is safe with me. Promise." He put his hand on his chest and put his most solemn expression on his face.

"I know a great burger place around here."

"You see a crying woman and your first impulse is to take her to a burger joint?" Donna asked incredulously.

"I found out that a good, old American burger is the best receipt against sadness," Mike replied sagely. Donna contemplated his words for a while.

"A burger right now sounds nice," she conceded. "I´ll have to use the bathroom before we go, though."

* * *

The place Mike took Donna to was in a secluded side street – inasmuch a street in downtown Manhattan could be called secluded – where not many people passed by. It was far off any tourist attractions, so most customers were native New Yorkers who were just looking for some good, low-priced food. The bell above the door chimed as they entered and took one of the more secluded booths at the end of the restaurant.

They ordered _("You have to try the Cheeseburger, I don´t know what cheese they use, but it´s the best I ever had in this city.")_ and sat there until Mike dared to break the delicate silence between them.

"Why do you still call your mother when she makes you feel like this?" he asked quietly. The murmuring of the other guests created a bubble of sounds around them that made it feel more private then it actually was.

"Because she´s my mother," Donna answered as if it was the only valid answer to that particular question. And maybe it was. Mike understood. He didn't think that he could ever cut his Grammy out of his life, even if she was like Donna´s mother. At least hearing the voice of her mother meant that she was still alive – _still there_ – and even if it was very much unlikely, they still had the chance to patch everything up. Mike would never have that chance.

"She was very demanding," Donna continued. "Still is. That´s why my dad divorced her when I was eight, because she was too controlling. We didn't have much money, at least back then, and it always spurned me to make something out of my life because I thought I could help them, make them proud."

"Which you did," Mike assured her. "You have a whole platoon of Harvard educated lawyers afraid of you." Donna sent him a small smile.

"My mother certainly doesn't think so," she admitted. "You should hear her cuss the word 'secretary'. She always wanted me to marry rich." Mike thought about it, but he couldn't imagine Donna as anything but what she was right now. Some people just had jobs and others had callings. And working at Pearson Hardman was Donna´s. Mike couldn't see Donna as submissive wife to some old hedge font manager, hanging daintily on his arm during high society receptions and fake smiling at his colleagues' jokes.

"I think you´re right where you belong," Mike said. "And if your mother can´t see that, well, then the fault´s on her."

"Thanks," Donna replied. "I know that, but sometimes, I just…"

"…need to hear it from someone else?" Mike finished for her and Donna nodded. "I know how that feels. I always knew that I was smart, but it still felt different when my mother or my grandmother said it."

Their food came and they tore in it with gusto.

"You were right," Donna said between bites. "That´s really good."

"I´d never dare to take you to a place with sub-par food," Mike joked with a hint of seriousness in his voice.

"Damn right," Donna replied. Faster than they thought their food was gone, leaving them sated and with that afterglow you only get when you had some truly extraordinary food.

"You´re alright?" Mike asked, worry tinting his voice.

"I think I am," Donna replied after some contemplation. Then, all of a sudden, she laid her hand atop Mike´s. "Thank you, Mike. I needed this, even if I didn't know it myself." She smiled at him. "You´re truly a great friend."

"You´re welcome," Mike said as he smiled back.

Something changed between them after that night. It was a small shift, barely noticeable, but it was there nevertheless. While Donna had always been a little inapproachable to Mike, even though he would call them friends, this barrier seems to have come down after their heart-to-heart. He found himself smile more often at her and she returned his smile. They would roll their eyes at each other behind Harvey´s back when the man was intolerably smug again or conspire against Louis together (they were still laughing about his temper tantrum when they had replaced his plum pudding with Activia). Working for Harvey had always been something Mike enjoyed tremendously, but now it was even better. With Donna in his corner he felt almost invincible. Even Harvey noticed that something had changed.

"Something is different about you," he remarked when Donna put some papers he had to sign in front of him. "You radiate as if you just pulled something on Louis." He narrowed his eyes. "But I know that you haven't, so what is it?" He paused. "New lover?"

Mike choked on the bubble gum he was currently chewing which soon degenerated into a coughing fit which only made Donna and Harvey look at where he was sitting in Harvey´s office with annoyance.

"Not that it´s any business of yours, but no, my bed is cold and empty and only the thought of you is keeping me warm at night," Donna replied. Harvey rolled his eyes at her while Mike´s face turned bright red.

Additionally, Mike´s food palate was considerably broadened now that he was taken to lunch by both Rachel and Donna every now and then. It made him feel a little uncomfortable, but it wasn't as if he was dating either of them, so there was technically nothing to worry about. Besides, that unpronounceable French dessert from last week definitely had been worth it.

Mike´s life trudged along the same beaten path for the next two weeks, even though it didn't particular feel like it. Harvey and he continued to beat their opponents, sometimes barely scraping by soundly being defeated themselves, sometimes by such a margin that their opposing council could have also stayed at home.

It was after another win – this time after a long, drawn-out trial that nearly had their client´s firm grounded to dust – that found Donna and Mike in a small bar near the building of Pearson Hardman. They had invited Harvey to come along as it had been the three of them who had finally managed to turn the tides on the case, but Harvey had gracefully declined. Well, the _gracefully_ was a lie, as he had straight out told them that he had some hot Brazilian model waiting for him and that not even Jessica would be able to keep him from her (which was another lie; no one denied Jessica). So it was just Donna and him, slurping cocktails in unnatural colours that were way to expensive.

"That tastes awful," Mike complained as he took another sip from his glass.

"I´d like to say that it doesn't, but yeah, you´re right," Donna agreed. "The dishwater at Pearson Hardman tastes better than this broth." They paid and left the bar and only noticed then that it was already dark outside.

"How long have we been there?" Mike asked astounded. "I drank, like, one drink."

"I think it was closer to three," Donna replied. "Ugh, now I have to go home."

"I´ll accompany you," Mike said.

"You don't have to," Donna assured him. "I´m perfectly able to find the way home on my own."

"I can´t let you go alone," Mike insisted. "What if something happens to you? Please, if not for yourself then for the sake of my consciousness." Donna tried to stare him down, but Mike must have looked so beseeching that she couldn't refuse him.

"Alright," she agreed, throwing her hand up in exasperation. "But I´ll have you know that I don't take anyone up in my apartment before the third date." She smirked at him. Mike just mock-saluted with a hat he didn't have.

They walked the streets in amicable silence, strangers passing them by, absorbed in their own narration of reality and somehow it made what they had seem so much more breakable and delicate. They were their own little version of events amidst an endless ocean, but to Mike they seemed as tall as the Empire State Building.

"We´re here." Mike looked up to see Donna looking up to a building made of red brick and with blooming flower-beds in front of it, disrupted only by the staircase that led up to its entrance.

They stood there, on the steps that led up to Donna´s building. The street laid deserted behind them, only a car driving by every now and then, the stars shining down on them from above and even though the city was never silent, it felt like they were in a cocoon separated from reality, just the two of them. Time lost its meaning as Mike stared into Donna´s eyes and she stared back – cerulean into brown, one great mind to another.

"Yes, you can," Donna said, a knowing smile on her lips. Not one to hesitate, Mike bent forward and caught her lips with his. Their kiss was slow at first – careful and prodding – an exploration of the other. Donna tasted like coffee, cinnamon and strawberry, a combination Mike quite liked. Their kiss turned more demanding, more inquisitive until they both broke apart to catch their breath.

"Wow," was the only thing Mike managed to utter, his pupils blown up wide.

"You aren´t that bad of a kisser yourself," Donna admitted. "Wanna come up?"

"Weren´t you the one who told me that you didn't take anyone to your flat before the third date," Mike teased as he let his fingers roam over Donna´s side.

"Well," Donna whispered, her breath ghosting over Mike´s neck, making goose bumps breaking out over his whole skin. "I think I can make an exception for you." She stretched out her hand and Mike, not wanting to break the magic of the moment, took it and followed her. "Besides, we already were on countless dates."

And outside the city shone on.

* * *

It was a whirlwind after that first night.

Mike came to work – with Donna´s favourite coffee, of course – and his heart jumped in his chest when he saw the redhead sitting behind her cubicle, every day in another dress that all looked gorgeous on her. Sometimes, when no one was around to see, they snugged in a fast kiss, the thrill of getting caught making both their hearts beat faster. Whenever Mike was called in by Harvey he would smile at Donna and while she wouldn't always smile back, her eyes would sparkle in that one way they only did for Mike.

In the evenings they would go wherever they wanted. Little, secluded restaurants that never made it on the front page of any food blogs, art exhibitions with the weirdest of art that had them get thrown out when they laughed too much at one installation, amusement parks where they kissed atop the Ferris wheel, the city sprawled out underneath them, like they were sixteen-year-old teenagers who had fallen in love for the first time.

It was exhilarating, liberating, pure adrenalin and Mike loved every single second of it, every smouldering gaze, every chaste kiss, every laugh like angels singing and for once he cherished his mind for enabling to put every little detail of it to memory. It was like his life was an empty canvas and Donna the one who finally put colour on it.

They didn't make their relationship public, though. Mike knew that Donna wouldn't care what others thought – she commanded too much respect and fear for that – but he could just imagine the office reacting to them being together. The ridicule, the malign rumours, the gossip and hazing and maybe it was a little bit craven, but he just didn't want to deal with that right now. Not when everything went so well for them.

"I understand, Mike," Donna said after he confessed his fears and reasons to her. The morning light was streaming through the blinds, illuminating their naked forms sprawled over the mattress. "I understand that you want a piece of happiness just for yourself." She flipped around and looked at him. "To be honest, I wouldn't mind a piece of that happiness for myself either."

So their lives continued until the day Jessica announced in front of all employees that the annual Pearson Hardman Spring Ball would be held soon.

"I want you to be my date," Mike told Donna when they were at her apartment.

"Well, that isn't very romantic of you at all," Donna pouted. Mike stood up from his place on the couch and went on his knees in front of Donna.

"Donna Roberta Paulsen, will you be my date to the Pearson Specter Spring Ball?" he asked, taking her hand into his as if he was proposing to her.

"Well, if you ask like that…no," she replied cheekily. Mike just levelled her with an unimpressed stare. "Just kidding, of course I´ll go with you." Her face soon turned serious again. "You´re sure about that?" Mike didn't need elaboration to know what she meant.

"Yeah," he admitted. "I think it´s time. I think I´m – we are – ready for it. I want every person on this world – or at least at Pearson Hardman – to know that I got the mist gorgeous woman of all at my side." He kissed her knuckles.

"You sure know how to woo a woman," Donna smiled.

* * *

"This is it," Mike said. They were sitting in the cab, hands gripped tightly and watched as the employees of Pearson Hardman swarmed into the building that the firm had rented for their annual spring ball.

"We can still go on our own," Donna said, "if you´re not ready yet."

"There´s nothing to be ashamed," Mike replied heatedly. "It´s just…once this gets out, they´ll be all judging you. They call you a cougar and other things."

"Hey!" Donna exclaimed. "I´m not that much older than you."

"I know, I know," Mike shushed her and kissed her knuckles. "I know. But you know what I mean."

"Mike," Donna started, "who am I?" Mike looked at her perplexed, but then his face lit up in understanding.

"You´re Donna," he answered her with reverence and awe in his voice.

"And do you truly think that I care what some unimportant, petty and small-minded people have to say about us?" Donna asked, not expecting an answer. "The only people who have any say over this relationship sit in this car." On the driver seat, the taxi driver cleared his throat.

"Sit on the backseat of this car," Donna amended with a smile.

"Kid," the driver said and turned around to face Mike. "Listen to your woman. She´s right." Mike held his hands up in mock-surrender.

"Alright, alright," he laughed. "You win." He got out of the car, walked around its rear, opened the door for Donna and held out his hand which she graciously accepted.

"Thanks," Mike said to their driver and gave him a ten Dollar tip because today he just felt so giddy and happy and wanted other people to have a piece of that happiness as well. The man tipped his head and then, with a loud howl of his engine, he drove away.

Mike offered his arm to Donna, which she gladly took and then they were walking up the stairs.

"How many are looking already?" Mike whispered to Donna, because he didn't dare to turn his head around.

"There are some who still uphold the pretence of not outright staring at us," Donna replied and Mike had to snort at her diplomatic paraphrasing of the gossip addicted people of Pearson Hardman.

"At least it won´t get boring," Donna added. Mike could just nod fervently at that.

They made their way towards the ballroom, Mike hyper aware of the people staring at them but he refused to show – to let them know – how it affected him, so he concentrated on the Donna´s arm pressed against his, her warmth seeping through his skin deep into his bones.

The room Jessica had rented exhibited the grandeur one could expect from such a prestigious institution as Pearson Hardman was: mirrors hung on the walls, from the ground up to the ceiling, framed by elaborate strands and frescoes of gold while crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling which was covered in Renaissance like paintings of biblical scenes like in the cathedrals of Europe. Waiters in tuxedos made their way through the crowd and offered expensive champagne and appetizers on silver trays.

Before Mike had started working for Pearson Hardman the nearest he had come such a high society mingling was as part of the waiting staff. It was moments like these, that contrasted so stark with his former life, that he had to monumentally pause for a short moment and take it all in, for he feared that it was all only a dream that he could be torn out by Trevor at any minute.

"It´s real," Donna whispered to him as if she knew what he was thinking. "As real as it ever gets."

"Mr Ross." Even – or rather especially – in a midnight blue evening gown Jessica made an imposing figure. There wasn't anyone on her arm, but Mike didn't doubt for a second that Jessica needed no man for an occasion such as this. "And Miss Paulsen." Her gaze wandered to Donna and only the short twitching of the corner of her mouth betrayed her surprise.

"I wish you an entertaining evening," she continued. "And I hope that HR will be updated about this development coming Monday." Mike and Donna just nodded and then, like a whirlwind, Jessica had already moved on to the next guests. Mike let out a relieved breath and even though Donna tried to hide it, he could feel her hand shaking in his.

"One down, another to go," Mike commented. They both knew to whom he was referring to and his stomach turned in anticipation at the thought of how Harvey would react when he saw them. Mike could see his fellow Associates staring at him dumbfounded and he felt a primal kind of pride surge through him. He got Donna while they stood by the punch, glaring daggers at every male who entered the hall with a female companion.

Mike was soon distracted, though, when Rachel walked towards them, dragging a reluctant Harold behind her. Mike raised an eyebrow at the other blonde, impressed that he managed to get Rachel as his date.

"Donna," Rachel said, "could we talk for a moment?"

"Of course," Donna replied. "Mike can amuse himself with Harold in the meantime." She sent one last apologetic look at Mike before she was dragged off by Rachel.

"You…Mike…" where the only words the brunette managed to get out.

"Yes, we´ve been seeing each other," Donna answered the unasked question and took one glass of champagne from a waiter walking by.

"How long?" Rachel wanted to know. "And why didn't you tell me?" The last question she asked with a little bit of hurt in her voice.

"Nearly five weeks," Donna told her. "And I didn't tell you because Mike didn't feel comfortable 'coming out' until now." She took a sip from her glass. "You should know how it would look." Rachel nodded in understanding.

"But how?" she made an encompassing gesture and Donna knew just what she meant. It was what everyone who saw Mike and her together asked himself sooner or later. How came it to be that she – mature, successful woman who had her life in order and knew what she wanted – got together with Mike who was – well, who was Mike.

"I don't know, exactly," Donna replied. "I think it´s his honesty. He still has this bright-eyed, idealistic boy thing going for him. He isn't as jaded as the rest of us. I can trust him, believe him and that´s something you rarely find in a man." She sighed wistfully. Rachel just grinned at her.

"I´ve never thought I´d see you that gone for someone," she giggled. Donna sent her an evil glare.

"I´m still the most kick-ass woman you´ll ever meet in this life."

"Of course, you are," Rachel pacified her. She gazed behind Donna, then looked back at her. "I think you should go back to your date. Harvey´s prowling towards him." She nodded in the direction and, indeed, when Donna turned around she saw Harvey making his way through the crowd towards Mike who, meanwhile, had been abandoned by Harold who hid behind the buffet from Louis.

Donna and Harvey reached Mike simultaneously.

"Mike," Harvey greeted the other man. Like usual he was wearing his tuxedo like a second skin and looking unbelievable attractive in it. "You´re here with Donna?" He raised an eyebrow at him. "Did she take you as her pity date?" Mike knew Harvey and he knew that the other man meant it as a joke – _probably_ – but this time his boss so callously disregarding them made his hackles rise.

"No, Harvey," he bit out. "She´s here as my real date. We´re together." Harvey looked at Mike, then at Donna and broke out in roaring laughter.

"You´re kidding, right?" he asked as he swiped away an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye.

"No, he´s not," Donna replied coldly. "He´s my date." When it became apparent to the other man that they were indeed serious, his expression closed off and the grip around his glass of champagne tightened. And then, without another word, he turned around and walked away. Mike looked at Donna, his eyes wide and confused.

"Wait here," she said, "I´ll go after him."

"Shouldn't I come…"

"No!" she interrupted Mike. "No. Just wait here, please? This is between Harvey and me." Still doubtful, Mike nevertheless complied with her command and Donna made her way towards where Harvey had vanished to.

She found him in a side corridor of the building, far away enough from the crowd so that no soul would stumble upon them.

"What the fuck was that?!" Donna spat at Harvey. "Goddamn it, Harvey, why can´t you just be happy for us? Is it truly too much to demand?" She threw her hands in the air, completely done with Harvey´s antics.

"Is it truly too much for you to see me with someone who makes me happy?"

"Yes!" Harvey exclaimed and all of a sudden realisation dawned on her.

"It isn´t me you´re angry about, is it?" she deduced. "Because you´d never run away if it was me. You´d have stayed there and fought." Her eyes widened as she connected the dots.

"You like him," she stated monotonously. "You fancy Mike." Harvey didn't say anything, instead averting his gaze from Donna. He didn't want to be so open – _so vulnerable_ – in front of his secretary.

"Why did you never act on it?" Donna wanted to know. "Why let it pass by?" Harvey had many answers to that – _he didn't know if Mike would like him back; didn't want to expose himself to the other man; didn't want to make himself vulnerable; afraid of rejection; afraid of disgust; afraid_ – but he didn't say anything of it out aloud in the empty hallway they were in. Keeping it shut down in the darkest corner of his mind made it less real, less damaging to the mask of _THE_ Harvey Specter, best closer of the city.

"It doesn't matter anymore, does it?" Harvey replied finally. "It´s never gonna happen now." Donna pursed her lips.

"I guess you´re right," she agreed. There and then, in the quite hallway, with its ugly yellow walls and the flickering light bulb above their heads, the faint sound of the party in the background and the smell of dust and burnt fat hanging in the air, their friendship showed its first crack as the Woman That Knew Everything and The Best Closer This City Had Ever Seen finally realized that from this moment on they would always vie for the attention of the same man; that the bonds that had them seen through the ordeal of the DA´s office weren't strong enough to withstand the lure of love – of not waking up alone anymore, having someone smile at them as if they were the greatest treasure on this world, even after all they had done. A small tragedy in the microcosm of Pearson Hardman, unnoticed by anyone but them. Love was a cruel mistress, indeed.

"You should apologise to Mike," Donna said after a while. "He´s standing there, probably breaking his mind trying to figure out what he did wrong. You owe him that." _You owe me that_. She didn't say it, but it hung between them, unspoken, visible only to them and Harvey couldn't ignore it, even though he wanted to. That was the least he owed Donna.

"I will," he said and then there was this sudden urge to get away from all this – from Donna, from Mike, from that stupid party he hadn't even wanted to attend in the first place – so he pushed himself off the wall and started to walk away.

"Harvey?!" Donna called after him. He turned around and seeing her standing there – in her ivory dress, her red hair glowing under the soft, yellow light, her unblemished, porcelain white skin – she looked like a princess straight out of a fairy tale.

"I´m sorry." Her words were barely above a whisper and yet Harvey could hear them as if they were spoken directly into his mind. He shook his head.

"No, you´re not." Donna just smiled at him sadly.

* * *

It was a slow waltz they danced to, Mike´s hand on Donna´s waist, hers on his shoulders as he twirled her around. Around them others were dancing as well and even though they were amongst dozens of people, it felt like there was only them on the dancefloor. The chandeliers sparkled above them, like thousand diamonds in the sky and for a short moment they forgot where they were because it felt like dancing under stars.

"Harvey came and apologised," Mike remarked idly as they moved to the music.

"Is that so?" Donna replied.

"He looked like he had swallowed something bitter," Mike laughed and for a short moment Donna had to look away because she didn't want Mike to look at her and see how right his offhand statement had been. So she clung to him tighter and let his calmness wash over him.

"You know, I love you, Mike," she whispered. The blonde looked at her, the light of the chandeliers reflecting in his blue eyes, and then he smiled.

"I love you, too," he replied and then he kissed her.

Tonight was their fairy tale. Tonight, until the first ray of dawn.


End file.
